PSA- Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastián, Spain

Arguably the best hotel experience I’ve ever had and in such a beautiful and glorious city.

The concierge is incredible

The wait staff at the restaurant and breakfast are incredible and attentive to all needs

The food is spectacular

The rooms are gorgeous with insanely comfortable beds

Location couldn’t be better and more central to all areas

This has now become the gold standard for me in terms of quality I would expect from a top notch hotel.

If you are thinking about coming to the area (and highly suggest you do), you should fork over the extra cash (or points) and don’t think twice about staying here.

It’s just about perfect.

Todd stayed there and love it.

We stayed in the center of the old town area but walked over for cocktails in the bar. Really nice.

There were ladies having high tea along the tables of the hallways - first time I had seen that if you’re into such things.

Agree 100%. I was there in May, hoping to go back in 2020.

The hotel plus the food scene is amazing time even if the town itself isn’t a little sparse for non-food activities beyond strolling (and a decent museum).

Agree that it’s an amazing hotel. Their pinxtos guide was pretty spot on and allowed us to discover some things we wouldn’t have tried otherwise.

Favorite San Sebastian restaurants? Ours were Akellare (favorite restaurant anywhere) and the steak at Bar Nestor. We found Mugaritz disgusting.

We learned stomach issues can be quickly cured with a purchase of Bi-Suero from a pharmacy. The medicine is in the straw of the juice box (probiotics).

I’d fork over the points but I don’t think it’s worth the extra cash myself. YMMV.

All true, what Eric said. We got to stay there thanks to Starwood (at the time) points, and it was off-season, so it was WAY cheap (in points). I’m sure those days are long gone, thanks to the merger with Marriott. I’m happy I had the chance to stay there when I did - as Eric said, it’s just about perfect

Roughly 650 Euro a night right now. Around 35,000-50,000 points per night IF you can get a redemption right now. During current high season I see no redemption nights.

That doesn’t sound right, it’s a straight 60k points for category 7, they (Marriott) haven’t introduced hi/low season points pricing yet. I found a day in September with two doubles available.

We stayed at a lovely 2 bedroom across the street from La Concha with a fabulous multilevel garden for about a third of the price

Disgusting is a hot take. What about it earns your ire?

Try the last week of July / First week of August. I got blocked out completely.

That’s way too close in to expect Marriott awardavailability at a popular hotel which is much tighter than Starwood’s.

Understood. Maybe pick another high season date of your choosing? How about wait a month or so and go for the International Jazz Festival this time next year?

The food. They are very focused around challenging the diner with all sorts of offal you may have never thought to eat before. The results (to us) didn’t taste good and were frequently nauseating. It is a beautiful restaurant with innovative presentations and the service you expect from a Michelin. We dine for enjoyment and with so many other options in and around San Sebastian it’s not something we would recommend.

Martin Berastegui in Guipuzkoa was much more our speed if you’re looking for a place a bit out of town. We really enjoyed the sommelier and strikingly beautiful dishes.


We’ve seen deals at Maria Cristina when you bundle it with business-class airfare.

Didn’t seem to be the case when we dined there and tremendously enjoyed our meal. Perhaps a different menu and focus as I recall ours being more well rounded and represented everything from land and water. Given our experience, I’d be all over that offal menu if given another opportunity.

Btw, we didn’t stay there but that Maria Cristina hotel looks awesome from the outside and has a beautiful inside (lobby) when we walked in to look. Our last time in SS, we stayed nearby, perhaps a little more basic with appropriate amenities for us and nowhere near the splurge of Maria Cristina, at Hotel Londres y de Inglaterra.

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Concerning dining there bear in mind that Ezcaray by Francis Paniego just switched over the entire menu to their new summer menu about a week and a half ago. Heavy focus on summer fare so to speak.

The Maria Cristina is so great. When we were there several years ago, my wife left her jacket somewhere about 40 minutes away. One of the concierges personally drove to pick it up from her during her off hours.

I just came back from a 5 night award stay on May 25, super high season, and an event at the hotel, the place was sold out. Got a suite for 4 of the 5 nights, it was a great stay. I made the reservation a year in advance.

I would start by checking for 2020. Yes, now you have to wait as Marriott was inferior to
Starwood in this regard (booking horizon). Marriott is only up to July 3 as of this moment.

Interesting. Thanks for the response.

I used only SPG/Bonvoy points. I think 60K per night and worth every single one of them. I booked several months ago.